1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mounting devices for lights attached to a firearm and particularly to adjustable positioning of rail-mounted lights on a firearm.
2. Related Art
Historically, it has been difficult for even skilled marksmen to coordinate a hand held flashlight with a firearm at night. The modern two handed handgun shooting technique requires the support hand to wrap around the hand which controls the firing of the weapon in order to substantially control the weapon during firing. The user must relinquish some control of the handgun if the support hand is used to hold or even switch on and off a light while firing. In recent years the industry has improved upon this skill by incorporating a mounting rail with locking indentions, into the frame of the firearm, inline with and just below the barrel of the firearm. A specially designed light module is attached to the firearm using the integral mounting rail on the firearm. The light module is secured to the firearm's mounting rail just forward of the front of the trigger guard on pistols and near the front of the hand guard or fore stock of shoulder firearms. A light pressure switch is mounted to the grip of the firearm in some designs and in other designs the switches are incorporated into the light module itself. In the later designs, the light modules have momentary and on/off toggle switches incorporated into the rear of such modules. These switches are operated usually with the support hand and must be ambidextrous in design. The toggle type switches require practice and training in order for someone to become proficient with the module while firing the firearm at night while maintaining control of the firearm. In the above referenced designs, the light module is relatively expensive and in some cases, costs near the cost of the firearm. In most designs, the installation and removal of the light unit is not user friendly and a majority of the users dedicate the light module to the firearm. A specially designed holster is then required to fit the firearm with light attached. Common sense and proper training would prevent the user from using the dedicated light in a no risk illumination scenario and therefore a secondary flashlight is required for such uses. The substantial disadvantages of the prior art device require a new approach.